Paying high price for compassion

Michael Dougan, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, May 11, 1995

1995-05-11 04:00:00 PDT MARIN COUNTY -- SAN RAFAEL - When homeless people started camping on a wooded hillside above the Marin Recycling Center, owner Joe Garbarino responded in the tradition of his Italian immigrant father, who spent a lifetime befriending the hapless.

For six years, Garbarino let the homeless stay on his land and gave them food. He didn't do anything when they slaughtered a pig for Thanksgiving without his permission and started a grass fire when they tried to roast it. He did not say much when they burned down the timbers in an old railroad tunnel, causing it to collapse.

But he grew concerned when his Bret Harte neighbors recently complained about drug dealing and prostitution in the encampment. Then came the final straw.

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Pit bulls owned by some of the homeless attacked his goats more than a week ago.

"I found four dead goats who were personal pets of mine and who waited for me every day so I could give them a loaf of bread," he recalled earlier this week. "Their throats were bitten out. That really fired my anger."

Exemplary but uninvited tenants&lt;

Garbarino ordered all homeless, who at one time numbered between 20 and 40 people, off the property near Jacoby Street by Wednesday. All but one were gone by nightfall.

"One person called and wanted one more day," Garbarino said on Wednesday. "I'd like to give these kids time. The remaining ones were the good people."

Earlier in the week, he spoke of those people like 31-year-old Mike Morgan, who he considers an exemplary but uninvited tenant. His voice chokes, and he whips out a handkerchief. "He's the nicest kid in the world," recalled the recycler. "When I think of that kid, I get tears in my eyes."

Others like Morgan joined the camp. They were, Garbarino recalled, destitute people with a sense of manners who appreciated his generosity.

"He let us stay here - it's so beautiful," said Don Carr, 50, who was preparing to leave Garbarino's land. "He used to drop off food for us, like canned goods. And one time he brought rain gear."

Then, said Garbarino, "it all changed." More and more homeless who he believed were mentally ill moved in and were becoming a "menace to society."

A tour of the campsites, spread along trails that meander beneath the trees, revealed numerous and vast piles of garbage. Human waste was everywhere. So were used hypodermic needles.

"They started selling dope up here, and that was a different faction than the homeless," said Garbarino.

"They don't want to stay in shelters, because they can't drink and take drugs there."

Several of the homeless still on the hillside earlier this week supported Garbarino's concerns.

"I thoroughly agree," said Ken Dilks, 52, who lives in a collapsible hut, where he reads and makes exquisite model ships and airplanes. "It got out of hand. One little group of people just screwed it up for everybody."

Morgan expressed similar regret. "It gives us all a bad name," he said with a shy smile. "I don't consider myself to be homeless. I'm a happy camper."

Garbarino's agony over evicting the homeless is shared by his daughter Patty, 39, who helps run his resource recovery business. "You go home to a clean bed and hot shower, and you have to feel sorry for these people and their plight," she said. "I have to remind myself that I'm doing this to protect the animals."

When they chose to evict their uninvited tenants, the Garbarinos contacted 13 local agencies who might help the homeless, said Patty Garbarino. "We would really like for this to be a compassionate transition."

"Sensible and sensitive'&lt;

"I've been absolutely struck by their humanitarian spirit," he said. "They are just the kind of business people that you dream about and you sometimes come across. They are sensible and sensitive."

An expansion of northbound U.S. 101, which runs on top of the hill, will clear the area in June. But Garbarino will clean the hillside before then.

"It's going to take thousands of dollars," Garbarino said.&lt;

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